Siege of Taida

The Siege of Taida occurred in 1290 BC during the wars between the Middle Assyrian Empire and Mitanni. An Assyrian army under Prince Berutu conquered the Mitanni city of Taida in upper Mesopotamia, brutally slaughtering its population afterwards.

History
By 1290 BC, the Middle Assyrian Empire ruled over central Mesopotamia from Assur, and King Adad-nirari I sought to expand his empire's borders at the expense of Babylon, the Sumerian city-states, and Mitanni. Mitanni controlled upper Mesopotamia and parts of Syria, and it was already at war with Adad-nirari when he decided to send his son Berutu, the Governor of Nasibina, with 1,009 troops (many of them hired sa-gaz brigand mercenaries) to conquer the border city of Taida. Berutu had his army build a battering ram, a siege tower, and several ladders for the taking of Taida, which was defended by a 226-man garrison under the Mitanni prince Wasashatta. The Assyrians launched a diversionary attack on the main gate with the battering ram, which drew most of the fire from the Mitanni archers, who employed fire arrows against the besiegers. Meanwhile, the siege tower and the ladders had been set up on two flanks on either side of the gates, and the Assyrian infantry scaled the walls and closed in on the Mitanni defenders from two sides. The Mitanni defenders fought with vigor, causing some of the brigands to flee. However, the Assyrians succeeded in securing the gates, and Berutu led his bodyguard chariots, another unit of chariots, and his archers into the city, assaulting the Mitanni chariots in the main square. The Mitanni chariots and the Assyrian forces engaged in an archery battle, and, at the cost of the unit of regular charioteers, the Assyrians destroyed Wasashatta's units. The Mitanni defenders on the walls then faltered, and they were ultimately slaughtered until only 5 survivors were left. The Assyrians noted that they had suffered considerable losses and that the population was unhappy with their rule, so the Assyrians put nearly 4,000 civilians to the sword and looted 3,143 shekels from the city. The Assyrians would later force the populace in line by improving the city's infrastructure and by building temples to their gods, assimilating the Hurrians as Assyrians.